April Housing Affordable Housing in America
April Housing Affordable Housing in America

April Housing
Leadership Team

From Our
Leadership

“I’m honored to step into this role to drive meaningful impact. Blackstone’s unwavering dedication to this space is clear, and I am energized and excited by the opportunity to work alongside a truly best-in-class team to expand and improve the affordable housing stock in the U.S.”—Alice Carr, CEO, April Housing

“Alice’s skillset, experiences and distinguished track record in affordable housing make her the ideal leader for April Housing. Her mission-driven values are highly aligned with Blackstone’s approach to housing and will be invaluable as we work to extend the affordability programs in our portfolio and bolster the country’s affordable housing supply.”—Kathleen McCarthy, Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate

Alice Carr, CEO

Alice Carr, CEO - April Housing

Alice Carr leads all aspects of the company’s strategy and operations. Alice brings to her role more than 25 years of experience in affordable housing and community development. Most recently, she served as Managing Director and Head of Community Development Banking at JPMorgan Chase, leading a team that financed the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing to both low-income families and seniors across the U.S. Previously, Alice served as Managing Director for Citi Community Capital. She began her career at Low Income Investment Fund, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) focused on affordable housing and small business lending. Alice currently serves on the Board of Directors for Enterprise Community Investment and Enterprise Community Loan Fund.

Our Senior
Leadership Team

Brian Lee
Chief Financial Officer
Brian Lee serves as Chief Financial Officer, leading all financial aspects of the company, including financial planning and analysis, accounting, and tax.
He most recently served as Executive Vice President of Finance at Caruso and previously spent 14 years at DigitalBridge/Colony Capital, where he last served as Treasurer and Head of Corporate Finance overseeing capital markets and FP&A, with prior roles in acquisitions and shareholder relations. Brian started his career as an auditor in the real estate group of KPMG and then as an investment banking analyst at Bear Stearns.
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Nina-Lee Jewell Alhambra
Chief Operating Officer
Nina-Lee Jewell Alhambra serves as Chief Operating Officer, working to set the company’s strategic direction, overseeing asset management, portfolio operations and April’s property management partners.
She will partner with our technology team in building best-in-class technology and data infrastructure to drive operational performance. She joins April from Lincoln Avenue Capital, where she was Vice President, responsible for day-to-day oversight of the asset management division. Jewell Alhambra brings more than 20 years of leadership in organization structure and planning.
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Louise Nelson
General Counsel
Louise Nelson is as General Counsel at April Housing. In this role, Louise and team oversee all legal matters for the company.
Louise most recently served as Chief Legal Officer for the University of California, Los Angeles and previously spent 16 years in senior roles on the legal team of Hilton Worldwide, Inc.
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Stewart Polakov
EVP, Finance
Stewart Polakov is responsible for all aspects of April Housing’s Corporate Accounting, Partnership Accounting, and Tax.
Prior to this role, Stewart held various key senior roles within AIG and SunAmerica, including as Senior Vice President and Controller of the SunAmerica Life Insurance Companies and Vice President of Investment Accounting for AIG Life & Retirement.
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Jana Barbe
Senior Advisor
Jana serves as Senior Advisor to April Housing. She has dedicated her career to advancing affordable housing, with extensive experience as a non-profit developer, strategic advisor, and legal counsel.
She is a preeminent authority on the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), having been instrumental in the development, financing, and operation of thousands of affordable housing units through the LIHTC program. Prior to joining April Housing, Jana spent more than 25 years as a partner at Dentons law firm, where she represented market leading financial institutions and insurance companies in connection with their affordable housing and community development investment programs. Jana currently serves as Life Director of Thresholds, where she was previously General Counsel, and is a board member at The Association, a global community of extraordinary women.
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Perica Bell
Managing Director, Preservation
Perica serves as Head of Preservation, leading April Housing’s strategy and execution related to protecting the supply of affordable housing in the U.S.
She joins April from MUFG Union Bank, where she was head of all LIHTC debt and equity originations. She previously served as a Project Manager at Jamboree Housing Corporation, managing the acquisition, financing, and stabilization activities for multifamily affordable housing developments.
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Anne Staudhammer
Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives
Anne Staudhammer serves as Managing Director of April Housing, focused on the preservation and creation of affordable housing in the United States.
She leads a team that develops programs and services aimed at improving the lives of residents. Anne has more than 30 years of industry experience working with Low Income, Historic, and New Markets tax credits. Prior to joining April Housing, Anne was a Managing Director at AIG Affordable Housing, where she led teams that invested in new tax credit transactions and handled bond and other financings.
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Benjamin Finley
Managing Director, Transactions
Ben leads a team responsible for all aspects of April Housing’s capital transactions, including the sourcing, negotiating, and closing of property and partnership dispositions, partnership buyouts and acquisitions.
Prior to joining April Housing, Ben was President of Richman Community Capital, LLC. He was tasked with leading all investment efforts, building a new platform that acquired use-restricted, affordable and workforce housing communities throughout the United States. Ben has more than 20 years of real estate experience, including commercial brokerage, investment sales, underwriting and purchase transactions.
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Tara Guizot
Managing Director, Capital Markets
Tara Guizot serves as Managing Director of Capital Markets where she is responsible for refinancing all loans throughout the portfolio, as well as working with the company’s partners to effectuate capital markets transactions.
Prior to joining April Housing, Tara spent 21 years performing a similar function for AIG Affordable Housing.
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Keosha Burns
Head of Communications
Keosha Burns is Head of Communications, leading internal and external communications, public relations, and marketing activities for April Housing.
Previously, Keosha led external communications for Chase Mortgage and served as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for the Community and Affordable Lending team at JPMorgan Chase & Co., focused on the company’s unprecedented $30 Billion racial equity commitment.
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